Opustená (re)kreácia

SANATORIUM KRYM

SANATORIUM KRYM

Milan Šavlík

project 1969-73, realization 1975

The sanatorium
Krym now partly stands at the location of the former hotel Grand. With its
secession style, Hotel Grand had contributed to the romantic atmosphere of the
spa centre for decades. However, due to its low capacity and unsuitable statics,
it had not met the requirements of modern spa care anymore. In the late 1960´s,
a decision was made to build a modern facility to increase the
capacity and quality of care services provided. The project institute
Zdravoprojekt was dealing with many assignments in the whole country, where
most spas were confronted with the same problem. It resulted in a professional
architectural and medical discussion about the form of modern balneology. The
sanatorium Krym was supposed to offer not only accommodation, but also
balneotherapeutic services. It includes the pool Krym filled up directly from
the springs, and thus it expands the overextended nearby mirror pools. Employed
by the Zdravoprojekt institute, architect Milan Šavlík, designed a truly
impressive building, which carries the aesthetics of ocean steamers. It is thus
an evolutionary descendant of the first-republic steamer Sanatorium
Machnáčanchoring nearby. The cruise-ship tectonics is created by Krym´s
horizontal stripes of slightly receding windowsills tiled with white limestone
and its pyramidally sloping ‘bow’. The image is shaped by guests, who like to
sit on sunny terraces in summer. This
concept used to be supported by an entry ramp (unfortunately not existing any
more), leading to the first floor with the day part´s canteens. The ramp,
symbolizing the public accessibility and formally resembling a harbour
mooring, had to succumb to the pragmatic argument of ineffectiveness. The
ground and first floor glass walls facing the square carry the mass of the
accommodation part upwards, which makes it look elegantly lighter. The
protruding bracket on the first deck of the accommodation part protects the
parterre from rain, and thus creates a kind of spa colonnade. Although possessing
its architectural and functional qualities, the house struggles for favour of
public and visitors. Its modern and timeless character does not seem to match
up with the image of a romantic spa.

The Krym
underwent an extensive reconstruction in 2015. Its noble facade of stone
cladding was replaced with plaster. This unaccountable decision has fatally
eliminated the expressive qualities of the building, which used to belong to
100 best architecture realizations of the 20th century in Slovakia, according
to the DOCOMOMO list.